 For more videos on people's struggles, please subscribe to our YouTube channel. There is no end in sight to the COVID-19 pandemic as the number of cases and the number of casualties continue to rise. Along with this, the fear among people is also increasing and economies worldwide are falling as people are staying home in government-imposed lockdowns and self-isolation. While self-isolation is an important and necessary measure for containing the spread of this highly contagious virus, it is not a measure everyone can afford to take, especially in these precarious times. It is also not a sufficient measure by itself. Left parties and organizations across the globe are calling for governments to take steps that ensure the protection of people, particularly the most vulnerable sections, and also ensure that people are prioritized over profits, wherein power left governments have enacted extensive measures to ensure that people and their livelihoods are protected. The most striking example is of China's, where as of March 20, no new domestic cases had emerged since three days. One of the most important measures called for is scaling up of testing so that free tests can be availed by all those who need it. In countries where healthcare systems are largely private and insurance-based, left groups have called for free testing of everyone, regardless of whether they have an insurance card or can pay for it or not. To do this, governments will need to allocate resources to the public health sector immediately and ramp up production of testing kits. The capacity of public hospitals also needs to be increased to accommodate the rising number of COVID-19 patients and provide them with the intensive care that they need. Many left organizations are citing the example of Spain, which nationalizes its private hospitals in order to deal with the crisis. They are calling for a similar step of a partnership with private hospitals to provide free treatment to everyone in need. Similarly, organizations such as NUMSA, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, have also called for abolishing of private healthcare. There is also a need for setting up temporary quarantine centers to house people showing mild symptoms so they do not infect more people. There are also calls for strengthening the pharmaceutical industry to increase manufacturing of sanitizers, medicines, and other necessities. Apart from the general population, the medical staff needs to be armed with all the necessary protective gear, as they are in the front lines fighting this battle and they are the most likely to get infected. Moving on to the matter of social distancing. Governments across the world have recommended social distancing and self-isolation as one of the first measures of defence. But what is also being recognized is that social distancing is a privilege and not everyone can sustain themselves in quarantine. Workers who work for a daily wage or hourly wage, workers in the informal sector, and gig economy workers mostly do not have the kind of benefits that will allow them to stay at home. They mostly do not have sick leaves or paid leaves. They also have very little savings to be able to afford time off. Gig economy workers like Uber or Lyft drivers and delivery persons are also at greater risk as they come in regular contact with the general public as part of their work. And as this health crisis spreads, their earnings will be reduced further. In these conditions, these workers will be forced to continue working even in sickness and if infected, they will only spread the infection with them. These workers are among the ones at highest risk right now and need to be protected. Left organizations everywhere have called for protection of incomes of workers. This can be informed of direct cash transfers on ensuring sick paid leaves and unemployment benefits for all. Trade unions have also called for a moratorium on bank loans to small enterprises and credit lines for affected people. In Italy, workers in factories went on strike, demanding that employers take measures to make the work site safer. They demanded that the work site should be reorganized to ensure social distancing and that workers should be provided with protective gear such as sanitizers. Across the world, social movements, organizations and trade unions have set up hotlines and made calls to workers to denounce violations to their labor rights, such as forcing them to go to work, retaining pay, arbitrary firing, etc. that many workers, especially in the informal sector, are facing right now. Another essential requirement for self-isolation is a safe space or a home to stay in. To ensure this, left groups have called for freezing any rent, increases freezing evictions and banning all four closures. There is also a call for giving homes to the homeless. In the US, for instance, there are 17 million vacant homes according to the Party for Socialism and Liberation. This is more than enough to accommodate the 500,000 homeless people. And of course, if people are to remain in their homes, governments also need to guarantee them a steady supply of food and other health needs. Left parties have called on governments to increase the ration limits for poor families and use national food reserves to meet these needs. In many countries where students get food at schools, organizations have called for this food to be delivered at home. Children will be even more dependent on this food right now as their parents' livelihoods are compromised. The Indian state of Kerala, which is governed by a coalition led by the Communist Party of India Marxist, has also delayed deadlines of water and electricity bill payments. They are also working on laying down new lease lines to increase the bandwidth of internet as consumption is predicted to increase with more people being at home. Other organizations too have called for ensuring that no utilities are cut at this time. It is also important to enact measures for populations living in vulnerable environments. This includes the homeless living in crowded shelter homes. This also includes refugees, migrants and other displaced persons living in overcrowded camps. These can become centers of outbreaks if adequate care is not taken to protect the inhabitants. Incarcerated populations are also at risk. For instance, the Palestinian Prisoner Society reported that four Palestinian prisoners had contracted the virus in an Israeli prison. But they are not receiving the required care or treatment. The only measure taken by the Israeli authorities is a ban on visits by family members and lawyers, which is only worsening the ordeal of the prisoners. Left groups have called for the release of elderly prisoners and petty criminals. They also have called for the release of persons being held by ICE, that is the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and a freeze on any new arrest. On March 18, prisoners at Lapikota Prison in Bogota, Colombia mobilized inside the Penitentiary Center to denounce that the prison authority has not taken any measures to improve sanitary conditions and that the severe overcrowding lack of water and other proper conditions poses a severe threat to the lives of the incarcerated population. Social organizations in Colombia have called for strict sanitary measures to be adopted by prison authorities as well as the humanitarian release of prisoners accused of nonviolent crimes, a measure that has been adopted in several countries in light of the pandemic. There is also a call for ending sanctions on Iran, Venezuela and other nations. These sanctions have made it difficult for these countries to procure the required medicines and health equipment worsening the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the many flaws in capitalism, which is in no way equipped to deal with the crisis of this scale. The end of this crisis will only increase the already existing inequalities in society. Socialist countries and governments are right now able to control the spread of the virus and at the same time ensure that people's needs are met. Not only are they dealing with the crisis in their countries but the socialist governments of China and Cuba are also extending solidarity to others by sending in medical teams and equipment. If we are to find our way out of this global health crisis, their example will need to be followed.